Surgeries ‘could shut’ after funding change

GP surgeries in Sheffield face closure because of changes to the way NHS money is handed out, health leaders have warned.

Surgeries in the city are among those threatened by the phasing out of the Minimum Practice Income Guarantee, says the Royal College of General Practitioners.

The college says it has been inundated with calls from surgeries struggling to pay their bills – and has called on the Government for an emergency £15 million bailout.

The guarantee means many smaller practices are promised a minimum level of funding not dependent on the number of patients on their practice list.

In a letter to The Times newspaper, Prof Nigel Mathers, honorary secretary of the RCGP, said: “General practice is on the verge of a catastrophic meltdown, with nearly 100 GP practices facing closure within months.

“So grave is the threat to patient care in places such as Sheffield, Essex, Leicester, Cumbria and East London, the RCGP is calling for an emergency fund to help the practices affected.”

Earlier this year, NHS England published an anonymised list of 98 practices that could lose more than £3 per patient per year.